After traveling through time, I rely on force to survive

Chapter 267 Do you think this is a powerful tonic?

After settling Da Shuang and Xiao Shuang to rest, Li Qingqing returned to the main hall with Yun Su.

"Why is the food shortage in Nanqing Prefecture only being reported now?" Li Qingqing frowned.

Yun Su quickly explained, "You specifically instructed that apart from the two most important matters, the battle of Feiyun City and the movement of Prince Qing, no other trivial matters should be disturbed. Regarding this procurement of supplies, you only said that you would send Da Shuang and Xiao Shuang back to Qiushui Town and bring them back on the way back... I thought that you and Young Master Xie had already discussed this, so I did not report it."

Li Qingqing: ...

Okay! She did give that instruction.

"Master, are you worried that we won't have enough food?" Yun Su asked immediately when she saw Li Qingqing remain silent.

"After Young Master Xie left Bianguan City, he wrote a letter to Mr. Feng, asking Qingfeng Pavilion to secretly stockpile a large amount of grain. Now that we have enough grain, if Manager Qi fails to purchase grain in time, we can send a message to Mr. Feng and ask him to send someone to transport a batch of grain to Bianguan City in advance."

"Young Master Xie's considerations are indeed thorough, but..."

Li Qingqing looked at Yun Su and blinked. "I just agreed to provide logistical support for General Zhao."

"Ah!" Yun Su was stunned after hearing Li Qingqing's brief explanation, and asked in a trembling voice, "Can this statement be disregarded?"

"I'm afraid it will count." Li Qingqing tugged at the corners of her mouth, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Have someone inquire where there are any grain sources, and purchase a batch as soon as possible to deal with the emergency."

"Master, where can we find any more food supplies?" Yun Su asked anxiously.

"According to our intelligence, since the Northern Region and the Western Barbarians joined forces to besiege Feiyun City, the surrounding people, fearing that they would be affected by the war after the city fell, have been fleeing with their families. In addition, some prefectures and counties in the north have suffered severe disasters one after another. When the local people heard that the south was rich, they flocked south. Moreover, it is currently winter, and the fields cannot produce grain. Under such circumstances, grain merchants will not miss such an opportunity to hoard grain and drive up grain prices!"

Yun Su paused, then said helplessly,

"Even if we had a large quantity of grain right now, the price would be several times higher than usual. Even if General Zhao were to return the purchase price in full, where would we get so much silver to cover the cost? Besides... we can't compete with ourselves for grain!"

Yun Su really didn't want to discourage her master, but the facts were the facts.

Li Qingqing: ...

Well, that was too hasty!

It was thanks to Xie Xuan'an's shrewdness in ensuring that Qingfeng Pavilion had sufficient reserves in advance; otherwise, she would not only be troubled by the supply issue, but also by the people of Qingfeng Pavilion and the border city.

Who could have imagined that the Northern Region would launch a surprise attack while General Zhao was away with his troops, even as it allied with the Qi'an Kingdom?

However, if you accept someone else's cause, you must bear their consequences.

Even if we don't have food, we'll conjure it up!

Li Qingqing rubbed her temples, deep in thought.

I hadn't had a good rest to begin with, and then Zhang Haoyi woke me up in the middle of the night.

Zhang Haoyi was poisoned and suffered excruciating pain every two hours, making it impossible for him to sleep. To make matters worse, his subordinates reported that they still hadn't found Protector Wei.

He was completely panicked.

He had only completed half of the task the man in black had given him. If he failed to bring Protector Wei back to the capital, the man in black might refuse to give him the antidote in a fit of anger. What should he do then?

Zhang Haoyi first went to find Li Feng, but unfortunately, Li Feng had gone to the border town to deal with the matter of the Martyrs' Shrine and had not yet returned.

Because of the great victory at the border city, Li Feng, as the commander-in-chief, was required to return to the capital to see the emperor in a timely manner. Therefore, Zhang Haoyi could understand that Li Feng was busy dealing with the aftermath of the border city victory.

But while he understood, he couldn't wait, so he had no choice but to turn around and find Li Qingqing.

"Lord Zhang, it's so late, why aren't you resting? How will you set off tomorrow morning?"

With sleepy eyes, Li Qingqing lazily glanced at Zhang Haoyi, who looked increasingly haggard.

Zhang Haoyi really didn't want to see Li Qingqing. His current state was caused by Li Qingqing and the men in black she hired.

Zhang Haoyi was inwardly furious, but on the surface he tried his best to maintain a harmonious facade.

"Li Qing, to be honest, Vice Envoy Yao's men were negligent in their duties, and that damned Wei Shenglu escaped at some point!"

Zhang Haoyi grinned, revealing a smile he considered satisfactory. "Your soldiers are familiar with the border; could you send someone to capture Wei Shenglu?"

"Huh? Protector Wei escaped?" Li Qingqing feigned surprise.

"Lord Zhang, the person you released was a wanted criminal of the imperial court, a serious criminal who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country! How could you let him escape! Do you know that the border area is a complex and interconnected region, and finding a fugitive is no easy task!"

"No, no, you've misunderstood. Wei Shenglu is treacherous and cunning; he ran away on his own..."

Zhang Haoyi's face paled, and he was about to explain when he saw Li Qingqing begin to usher him out.

"Lord Zhang, please go back. Since Protector Wei has escaped, his life or death is up to fate. I really can't help you. You should rest well. You look so haggard these past two days. People who don't know better might think that I've been mistreating you in the border city."

Zhang Haoyi: ...

After chasing Zhang Haoyi away, Li Qingqing was completely unable to fall asleep.

She decided to enter the space to see if there was any way to solve the food supply problem.

Since Wu Meng returned, there have been no other changes in the space besides the original items, so it seems to have completely stabilized.

That's good. She was still afraid that one day the space would go crazy and wipe her out again.

As the only person in the world who possesses a spatial ability, even if the space itself is ordinary, it is as if divinely aided.

Especially seeing the room full of seeds and those few books, she felt much more confident.

In fact, when it comes to finding grain sources, besides purchasing from outside, the most reliable long-term method is still to cultivate grain in the fields.

Unfortunately, the current season is not suitable for planting major crops such as rice. Even cold-resistant vegetables that can be planted in winter are affected by the cold period, resulting in slow growth or no growth at all.

It would be great if we could find some crops with short growth cycles and cold resistance based on the current seasonal environment.

If there isn't enough rice, just eat more vegetables with the prey you hunt; you can still get enough nutrition.

With this purpose in mind, Li Qingqing carefully browsed through the books in the space, when suddenly her eyes lit up.

The winter months are extremely cold, making outdoor planting conditions harsh, but these conditions can be modified!

If fresh off-season vegetables can be successfully introduced in winter, it will not only solve the food problem for city residents, but also bring in a considerable amount of money when sold in the market.

As for the supplies provided to General Zhao, we can transfer a batch of storable grain from Qingfeng Pavilion, collect existing pickled or dried vegetables, and have people hunt more game, pickle it with salt, and transport it over. By piecing things together, we can last until the new grain comes out next year. That should be enough, right?

As Li Qingqing was pondering this, she heard someone knocking on the bedroom door.

Yun Su reported from outside that Bai Ye had returned.

Li Qingqing quickly left the space, gave Yun Su a few instructions, and then went to the main hall to find Bai Ye.

"Master, this is Protector Wei's statement, in duplicate." Bai Ye quickly handed her the thick stack of documents as she approached.

"Oh? Not bad, not bad! You actually thought of taking his statement. Now you have an excuse to hand him over to Lord Zhang later."

Li Qingqing took the statement, flipped through it casually, and smiled at Bai Ye.

"How about that? Feeling better now? If you ever run into an enemy again, you're not allowed to resort to violence over a mere disagreement."

Bai Ye remained silent and did not respond.

He actually still had enemies; his biological parents died at their hands. However, those enemies were long dead, so talking about revenge was pointless.

Now that I am living very well with my master, all those past troubles have faded away.

Bai Ye silently took out a medicine bottle from his body and handed it to Li Qingqing, "This is for you, but... I've used up all the medicine inside."

"All used up?" Li Qingqing took the medicine bottle in surprise and saw that it was indeed empty.

She glared at Bai Ye, speechless for a long time.

Upon seeing this, Bai Ye quickly explained, "Wei Duhu is not dead. I acted with restraint."

"Even if he's not dead yet, he's not far from it!" Li Qingqing strode towards the door, muttering to herself as she went.

"You spendthrift! You've gone through this whole bottle of healing medicine! Do you think it's some kind of super tonic?!"

white night:……